Nebraska Farmers Union

1305 Plum Street • Lincoln, NE 68502 www.nebraskafarmersunion.org Contact John Hansen Office: 402-476-8815, Fax: 402-476-8859, Cell: 402-890-8608 john@nebraskafarmersunion.org

For Immediate Release February 20, 2007

Nebraska Farmers Union Call on Legislature to Honor

The Will of the Voters on the Repeal of LB 126

Lincoln, NE. In prepared testimony before the Legislature’s Education Committee, Nebraska Farmers Union President John Hansen said, “The issue before the Committee today is not the pros or cons of LB 126. The previous Legislature has already debated the pros and cons, made their judgment, and passed LB 126 through three rounds of consideration and past the veto of Governor Heineman.”

Hansen’s testimony went on to say, “Nebraska voters exercised their constitutionally derived power to overturn the judgment of the Legislature by voting to repeal LB 126 by a 56.34% to 43.66% margin. The judgment of the Legislature is rarely overturned, but when it does happen, the will of the people should be respected.”

“In the judgment of my organization, the issue before the Committee today should be how the Legislature best keeps faith with the overwhelming will of Nebraska voters. Nebraska Farmers Union believes that LB 234 is the simplest, most straight-forward way to implement the repeal of LB 126, and respect the outcome of the election.”

The testimony concluded, “Right or wrong, agree or disagree with the judgment of the voters about the repeal of LB 126, they have spoken. We strongly urge the Education Committee to place LB 234 on General File for the consideration of the Legislature.”

Nebraska Farmers Union has long championed local control in school consolidation issues, and fought against state-mandated forced school consolidation, including LB 126. “The parents and taxpayers at the local level, not state level public officials or Education Department officials, should be making informed decisions about the best way to provide education for their children. The people at the local level are the people in the best position to know what is best for themselves as parents and taxpayers, and they are the people most directly impacted by school reorganization and consolidation issues.

“Nebraska Farmers Union is not against school consolidation, we are against state mandated, forced school consolidation,” Hansen said. “There is a big difference in who makes that difficult decision.” Nebraska Farmers Union actively opposed LB 126 when the Legislature passed it, actively helped gather signatures to put the repeal of LB 126 on the general election ballot, and actively campaigned for the repeal of LB 126 in the general election.

“The voters have spoken. They did not vote to rehash the merits of LB 126, they voted to repeal it. The Legislature should focus on the best way to repeal LB 126. The Legislature needs to put this issue behind us, honor the will of the voters, and move on towards meeting the many challenges facing education. ” Hansen concluded.